Performing like an Olympian

Aside from my parents, nobody I know would call me athletic. Some might call me active or energetic, but when it comes to raw talent and strength, I’ll never have what it takes to be competitive. Knowing that I only run, bike or play for fun makes me wonder about Olympians. What exactly is it about these athletes that allows them to deliver peak performance leading up to, during, and well beyond the Olympic Games? What lets them to go faster, stay balanced and hit their targets despite crowd interference and do it all without getting hurt (for the most part!)? How do top athletes manage to perform no matter what is going on around them? The same might be asked about the Cisco Network.

What other network can provide an end–to-end solution to organizations that are balancing access, performance and security challenges? The number of mobile devices is exploding – I witnessed the sheer number of people using their devices around London during the Olympic Games. And I’m not just talking about people using their phones to find their friends in Olympic Park. Everyone from local workers to law enforcement officers to cultural volunteers to throngs of tourists are relying on smart phones and tablets everywhere they go, from offices to parks to stadiums to the subway.

London is just one example of the scope of network infrastructure necessary to satisfy the ever growing number of users, devices, types of traffic and bandwidth needs infiltrating our lives. And why not take a cue from London and the preparations made for hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics? It’s time to make sure your network is on track to handle new devices, security risks, and overall user demands.

First – make sure people have the right access. We all heard it on the news, initially people struggled to get tickets despite empty seats at events in Olympic Stadium. Within days, the Olympics Committee worked out a system for getting tickets in people’s hands. Let me assure you, there was not an empty seat in the house at the events I attended. You can do the same thing – make sure your employees can access your network without hassles and save your IT group the trouble of provisioning access for each individual user. Using Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), you can make accessing the network as simple as pushing a button to scan and accept a ticket.

Furthermore, there is no reason you can’t achieve the level of security you need. London managed to maintain increased monitoring by police and other personnel without changing the atmosphere of the city and the games. It was as if security was so well integrated into the city that it never became a burden on people trying to get around town or enjoy events or cultural activities. Similarly, Cisco’s new 3600 Security Module will allow for ongoing monitoring without sacrificing any network speed or performance. Using Cisco Prime for a holistic view of the network, IT managers can troubleshoot and identify solutions to network problems from a centralized tool, decreasing reaction time and manpower needed to keep everything running smoothly.

Speaking of performance, that’s the reason we’re all watching the Olympics. If it weren’t for the consistently incredible performances of every athlete, the Olympics would not maintain its ongoing thrill, nor its audience. Keeping people on your network requires the same dedication to performance, accuracy, speed and connectivity. By taking advantage of Cisco Wireless Networking technologies including CleanAir and ClientLink 2.0, you can increase speed, boost device battery life and optimize capacity and performance.

Athletes dedicate their lives to achieving the results we see during the Olympic Games. When it comes to managing all of the new devices coming onto your network, Cisco has put together a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) solution so that you don’t have to spend your life worrying about it while still accomplishing your goals of secure access, holistic management and uncompromised network performance.

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